ART I ST OF THE MO NT H
RAHUL
RAJKHOWA
Tell us about your vocal
training and how you started
Our boarding school was located
40 minutes away from the closest
town, 6 kilometres off the main road,
completely surrounded by tea fields
and forests. So cultural programs
in school were our only shot at
taking stage. I'm really glad that we
organised the best rock concerts
though. In 2006 I remember coming
back to my hostel really inspired
after watching my seniors perform
on stage. Something about the lights,
smoke, people screaming really got
me in a trance. In 2008 we formed a
band called 'K-Reactives' (because
we were all good at chemistry)
and we decided we would only
perform original music. We were the
youngest band and the senior girls
wouldn't stop telling us how cute we
were, that was all the motivation
I ever needed to continue :)
I learnt how to play the guitar and
sing on my own, no training there.
How important is practice in
ensuring you retain your voice?
It really is. We often underestimate
the important of practice and good
vocal rest. I’m always on tour so I
barely get enough rest and time to
practice. The ability to hit higher
notes is better and I feel like I have
a lot more stamina on stage.
Who has been your
inspiration and why?
John Mayer and BB king. John
Mayer's music definitely improved
my song writing skills and the
ability to play the guitar. BB King
brought a lot of soul and feel in
to my music. I remember coming
back from college every day and
tuning into their music in my PG
and I'd feel like I had drifted on to
a different space. Those were the
hustle days. Things that inspire
you during your hustle days leave a
lasting impact on you and definitely
go on to shape you for the rest of
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your life. I had no guitar teachers
as such so watching their YouTube
videos always felt like a master class,
other musicians would have me
awestruck for sure but something
about these 2 artists always had
me inspired to a different level.
Tell us about your
band Paper Boat
Started off as an all Stephanian band
while in Delhi. When the original
line up backed out last minute before
a competition at IIT Kanpur, I put
together a bunch of friends and
decided to call ourselves Paperboat.
We ended up winning the first prize
there and a position in every other
Delhi University competition we
went to after. We even got voted as
one of the top 3 bands in the Hard
Rock Rising contest organised by
Hard Rock cafe in 2015. We began
headlining college festivals after
that, got an official music video
out on Vh1. MTV Nescafe labs
handpicked us as one of the top 4
indie acts in the country and did
a 7 city EP launch tour after.
Soon everyone on the original line
up had to move on to other cities
for work and higher studies so we
stopped playing shows that often.
Now we play only Prestige shows
and when our schedules match. Our
fan base is still loyal and you really
must make it to a show to believe
how awesome Paperboat shows are :)
Upcoming projects
I'm presently also touring as a
Hip Hop act. Collaborations with
Los Angeles based Producers
Sudeep Sinha and P Boy are on the
way. Sudeep and my last official
music video- Reason hit a 100K
views on Youtube and our EP
-The Stream got a lot of plays on
Spotify and Apple Music so this
year we will be releasing a lot
more Hip Hop and Rnb Music.
Our next official music video
will be - 'Let me explain’